Almost Doesn't Count
by TooEarlytoCare
Summary: Songfic, slightly OOC, no dialogue. Zoe gave Wade a daughter. But she could never give him herself.


AN/Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words (well, some of them). The rest belong to Mark Wills and/or a team of songwriters. Read and review!

Almost Doesn't Count

Zoe gave Wade a daughter. But she could never give him herself.

_Almost made you love me  
Almost made you cry  
Almost made you happy, baby  
Didn't I, didn't I  
You almost had me thinkin'  
You were turned around  
But everybody knows  
Almost doesn't count  
_

He built his bar while she was busy dating the town veterinarian for the second time. He got it off the ground with the help of Lavon and most of the town, putting the Rammer Jammer to shame, though not totally out of business. Zoe came to the grand opening with Judson on her arm and a smile on her face. She was happy for him, truly happy. She didn't share his dreams for a life here in Bluebell, but she wanted the best for him. He was Wade, he'd always be the one she could see herself spending a lifetime with, but she couldn't give him that. Not after all that had happened. She wasn't the same girl she'd been when she'd come to Bluebell. She didn't believe in fairytales or happy endings any more now than she had then. She'd learned her lesson with Wade, with George, and she'd learn it twice with Judson. She almost let herself fall in love with each of them. Almost.

_I can't keep lovin' you  
One foot outside the door  
I hear a funny hesitation  
Of a heart that's never really sure  
Can't keep on tryin'  
If you're looking for more  
Than all I could give you  
Than what you came here for_

The pregnancy was the result of a Lavon Hayes party and free-flowing alcohol. She'd just found out that her father, the illustrious Dr. Hart, had remarried six months before (without telling her or inviting her to the wedding) and was expecting a child with his much younger wife. A girl. Maybe he'd stick around for this one. Maybe not. Her rekindling with Judson had long since fizzled out and Wade found her doing tequila shots with Lemon Breeland of all people. He convinced her to let him walk her home and when she invited him in, he went without hesitation. When she asked him to stay, he almost asked her why. He didn't need an answer, though. Chivalry ain't dead, but Wade Kinsella wanted Zoe Hart, if even just once, before he was too beat down with regret to take action. He was too proud to admit he'd take her any way she'd give him, but his pride didn't keep him from giving in to her. At least for that one night.

_Gonna find me somebody  
Not afraid to let go  
Want a no-doubt, be-there kind-of-girl  
You came real close  
But every time you built me up  
You only let me down  
And everybody knows  
Almost doesn't count  
_

They fought often after the baby girl with brown hair and blue eyes came into their lives. They tried not to, but it was the nature of their relationship. The only thing they could ever agree on was what to name her. Harley Bell Kinsella entered the world at 12:01 AM after nine hours of labor in the middle of a heat wave. Zoe told Wade she'd never forgive him for that one. He just laughed at her and held up his seven pound, four ounce mini-Zoe. Six months later, Wade came home from "Wade's Place" to find Zoe gone, Harley Bell with Lavon, and a brief note in the doctor's scrawl explaining she'd been offered a fellowship in London.

_Maybe you'll be sorry  
Maybe you'll be cold  
Maybe you'll come running back, babe  
From the cruel, cruel world  
Almost convinced me  
You were gonna stick around  
But everybody knows, everybody knows  
Almost doesn't count  
_

Wade never knew when she would go, but he knew it was inevitable. She wasn't the type to stay settled. She wanted an international career and a reputation to match. Having a family with Wade in Bluebell had never figured in to her plans. She loved him in her own way and she loved Harley Bell more than anything, but she couldn't stay with them. Staying in constant motion was the only way she could make sense of things. It was all she knew. She visited from time to time, but in her heart she knew they were okay without her. Kinsellas were built tougher than Harts, Wilkes', or even Breelands. Wade would take better care of his daughter than either of her fathers ever could have. He was the best man she could have chosen and she almost had.

_So maybe I'll be here  
Maybe I'll see ya around  
That's the way it goes  
Almost doesn't count_


End file.
